Newcastle Deserve To Be Relegated For The Way They’ve Treated Steve McClaren

Steve McClaren Was Doomed From The Start

The once proud, black and white stripes of Newcastle United have slowly merged into an angry, grey storm cloud over Tyneside – and things are just going from bad to worse.

The vultures have been circling around St James’ Park for the past few seasons. Continued unrest on both the terraces and in the boardroom has made the throne as manager in the Newcastle United dugout about as comfortable as stubbing your toe with long toenails.

Steve McClaren was walking into a firestorm the moment he set foot in Newcastle and was in no way aided by his record as Derby County’s boss – sacked after he failed to guide the promotion hopefuls into the Premier League.

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Newcastle’s pre-season target according to Steve McClaren was to finish in the top 8… the Magpies are now 19th and realistically staring relegation in the face.

It’s been a tragic season for Newcastle, who have been entertaining the prospect of relegation for consecutive seasons and in their attempt to amend the situation, have surely only brought more misery upon themselves.

Here’s McClaren’s last interview at the club:

McClaren was not every Newcastle fans’ first choice as their new manager, particularly considering his far from flattering track record. Whilst the figurative fan finger points firmly towards the former England assistant, there have certainly been factors outside of his control that have contributed to Newcastle’s demise:

Newcastle can’t stick the ball in the back of the net to save their lives. Aleksandar Mitrovic, signed for £13 million in the summer transfer window, has managed just 5 goals all seasons, whilst other signings have failed to establish their places within the first team.

Source: Newcastle United

McClaren has also been plagued by injuries during his time at the club. The starting line-up is missing some guaranteed regulars due to injury with the qualities of Andros Townsend, Coloccini, Tiote, Cisse and Tim Krul sitting glum on the treatment table.

Do these factors cause critics to pause and consider the difficult situation McClaren finds himself in? Not for one moment.

Step forward Alan Shearer.

Alan Shearer Needs To Remember His Time In The Dugout

Alan Shearer’s continuous rants about Newcastle United from the comfortable Match of the Day studio are becoming a little tiresome.

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone, Alan. We’ve not forgotten your reign as Newcastle manager – stepping in, attempting to be the clubs knight in shiny black and white armour, only to see the club relegated to the Championship under your watch.

After only managing a measly 5 points from a possible 24 as Newcastle manager (winning just 1 game in that time), the fanfare that surrounded Shearer’s managerial takeover fell flat on it’s face.

Fortunately for the toon army, Chris Hughton managed to bring Newcastle back up to the Premier League on his first attempt… and there’s the beautiful irony!

Shearer forced his way into the dugout with the weight of the fanatical Newcastle support behind him, replacing Hughton, who would’ve been the natural replacement as then assistant coach.

Who knows what Hughton could’ve achieved in those final games of the season, but considering that he brought Newcastle up on the first time of asking, it’s almost certain he would’ve done a better job than Shearer.

Alan Shearer’s appointment remains testament that demanding a knee-jerk reaction and sacking the manager is not always the right option for avoiding relegation – particularly for a club of Newcastle United’s magnitude.

Rather than pinning all the blame on the manager every season, Newcastle fans should have a closer look at the toxic culture that has emerged within the club; rotting them to the core.